The Kingpin -The unmatchable Xabi Alonso Appreciation Thread

An invisible man who, without anyone really taking much notice of his existence, quietly sets about making things better for everyone around him. An invisible man who, without any prompting, oils the cogs, and tweaks the timing belt, and softly shines the chrome.
Only he’s not invisible. At least not to everyone...

Note:- Unable to find any existing thread to give our heartfelt thanks for this man who does so much for the team....If there is any thread, Please merge it..

Re: The King-Pin -The unmatchable Xabi Alonso Appreciation Thread

Suscribed.

Dude was born to play football. He's a like a quarterback in American football, except much more impressive because he does it with his feet, and for Real Madrid and the World Champion's Spain.

Our best and most consistent player this season.
You cannot overstate how important he is to us.

A leader on and off the pitch... reportedly a big voice in the dressing room, the guy getting us up as we go onto the pitch and the guy organising during the game.

I was always aware of how good he was controlling the play in the middle , but this season defensively he has been immense.

Never flashy, always excellent.
Hope he gets the rewards his season has deserved.

Hala the greatness of Xabi!

Xabi 'the metronome' Alonso. The pacemaker at the heart of this Madrid team.

delivers at a high level consistently and seems to still be getting better and better.

He'll probably have a shocker now we've opened this thread.

I'll blame you all if he does.

I'll have your head if you jinx him.

As for Xabi, he really is one of a kind. Can't imagine what this team would look like if he wasn't here.

Long overdue. If he begins to play poorly (especially with what we have coming up) yellows will be handed out.

Mourinho once said that just like he predicted Guardiola would become a good coach, he thinks Xabi as well could be one.

He has performed so well for us, I cant believe we've played all these years without him or a similar player!

I guess Valdano isn't so useless

World's greatest midfielder currently, people's blinding love with Barca tend to overlook his presence and its a shame only us regular watchers can appreciate his contribution. Consistent and i love his stupid yellow cards sometimes
Begs the question either Granero starts to improve (of course that comes with playing time) or we start scouting now in order to replace him, he's 29 iirc and only has a few more years left in him.

If Xabi did in a few years I'd like someone like Carrick to replace him. Carrick gets alot of abuse on the United boards but I like the guy. He is nowhere near Xabi's level, but his passing range is very good indeed. His pass to Giggs the other day was very like Xabi.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk6Cyw_7xdw"]YouTube - Wayne Rooney Goal - Chelsea vs Manchester United (0-1) Champions League[/ame]

That was a lovely, precise goal.

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You are right, Carrick is a very impressive player. His stats are very impressive:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ck-Wilshere-Englands-heart.html#ixzz1CM0i2bk0

^These stats are as of 28th january 2011.

Xabi doesnt make you run, his passes fall right to your feet

You are right, Carrick is a very impressive player. His stats are very impressive:
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Carrick He is such a player that only his team's supporters can love him.. He is such a nagging & annoying player to the opponents.. and I hate the way he tackles with his lousy stud upwards... Wrong player to play in Liga and with ll due respect, I will pas..

Alonso. I wish he can play for us for ever.

Not even MU's fans love him

Really good player though, very underrated.

The thing is Xabi does not rely on speed or athletism, at all. He uses is size to his advantage and mostly his brain. He doesn't make very many runs forward and is more likely to make one tracking back in defense where he usually just sits back spraying passes around. I think he could prove to be a very useful player for some time.

I'll go out on a limb here and not check before I post, but I think you'll find Xabi does not 'sit back' and actually covers the most ground on our team quite regularly.
His work rate is phenomenal.
Just because he makes it look easy doesn't mean it is.

Could very well be that he makes it look effortless but I would find it hard to believe he does more running than Ramos, DiMaria, or Marcelo who are up and down the length of the pitch, full speed, for 90 minutes. Like I said he's a smart player who gets into smart positions with less effort than "others" might require which lessens his need for speed.

Xabi is awesome. As a liverpool fan I watched him many times from he kop, watched him grow. As much as I hate Rafa Benitez, he and Steven Gerrard really made him grow.

Whats more is his commitment and professionalism. Reading Liverpool players' autobiographies Xabi was the only foreign player to ditch foreign tv and embed himself in the culture. It has broadened him as a player and a person no doubt. Now Real will benefit from years to come as he will only get better and better.

Only example I can find, away at Lyon...

Xabi runs the most in this game